Tuesday, August 11, 2015

A couple of observations

From the Andalucian Fiesta on Sunday night.

1. By the end of the night there was nobody drunk or even near drunk. During the meal people either drank a couple of small beers, pop or water. Afterwards many just had water and those that did have alcoholic drinks just had the odd one.

You may say but ah yes the event was organised for over 50s and it was true that most of the people attending were 3rd age but there were quite a few younger folk there as well.

We have noticed before that it is unusual to see Spaniards at bars in Bigastro consuming large quantities of alcohol. The behaviour of young Brits at resorts like Benidorm and Magaluf must seem alien to them and even deplorable.

2. When it started to drizzle nobody started panicking, one lady put up an umbrella and that was it. There was no stampede to get inside the third age centre nor to seek cover elsewhere. Only when it had rained harder for about ten minutes did people start to take shelter. As I said yesterday though, they didn't start to flock for the exit. Somehow they knew that the rain would not last and if they stuck it out, then the event would continue as if nothing had happened.

Spaniards seem to have a resilience that we British often lack. Maybe it is having lived through the hard times of the Franco era, I don't know. 

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